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Grey mouth-Point Elizabeth. —After long negotiations between two rival companies, arrangements have been made with the Cobden Railway and Coal Compafiy to construct a railway from Greymouth to the coalfields near Point Elizabeth, a distance of 6 miles. The company are proceeding under the District Eailways Act. This line will open up a very extensive coalfield, and materially promote the trade not only of Greymouth but of the colony. HARBOURS. As honourable members are aware, the Government resumed control of the West Coast coal harbours in April, 1888, and since then the works have been carried out under the supervision of the Public Works Department. Although Parliament does not provide the funds for these works directly, it is desirable that I should refer to them, more particularly as the subject is one of the utmost importance to the colony, and as it has not been specially referred to in the Public Works Statement for several years, Greymouth. —The harbour-works proper at Greymouth are nearly finished. The whole of Sir John Coode's " first instalment," which is all that was estimated for, is practically complete. Any further works done will be in accordance with his scheme for " future extensions," which was to depend on the development of trade. The works consist mainly of two breakwaters, carried out about 1,700ft. into the sea, to confine the river and direct it square on to the bar, with internal walls, to guide the river down to the breakwaters. The expenditure on the Greymouth harbour during the year ending the 31st December last was .£19,130, and the expenditure since the passing of the special Act in 1884 £165,000. Prior to that the Government had expended £127,000 on wharves, river-walls, and a section of the south breakwater. We may, therefore, set down the total cost of the Greymouth harbour-works at £292,000. These works have, so far, been perfectly successful. They have really done somewhat more than was expected of them. Prior to their initiation there was seldom more than 10ft. of water on the bar, and the channel was tortuous and constantly changing its position; now T the channel is straight and permanent, and for the last three years the depth of water on the bar has scarcely ever been under 14ft., and for most of the time it has varied from 16ft. to 24ft. Notwithstanding an exceptionally long period of dry weather, there were 320 days last year in which the depth was never less than 16ft. As showing the bearing of the Greymouth harbour-works on the progress of the colony, I may state that the output of coal in the Brunner mines for the three years ending December, 1880, averaged 29,840 tons only; whereas the output for the three years ending December, 1889, has averaged 162,840 tons, an increase of 133,000 tons per annum. Westport. —The general plan of the Westport harbour-works is much the same as that for Greymouth, but on a larger scale. 3,930ft. of the western breakwater have been completed, out of a total of 4,200ft., and 3,960ft. of the eastern breakwater, out of a total of 4,735ft. The principal works for the improvement of the bar are, therefore, well advanced, and it is a question whether the breakwaters might not be stopped where they are for the present till the inside works are further advanced. The whole of the work done on the eastern, and 1,050ft. of the western breakwater have been executed since the Government resumed control of the coal harbours. The inside works consist of river training-walls, wharf, and coalstaiths, and an extensive system of railway-lines and sidings for bringing stone from the Cape Foulwind quarries to the works. The wharf and coal-staiths, and a small section of training-wall, were constructed by the Government some years ago. The railways, together with a fine iron bridge over the Buller for road and railway traffic, "were made by the late Harbour Board. The. total expenditure on the Westport harbour-works has been about £300,000, of which £15,000 was expended before the works passed into the hands of the Board, £173,000 by the Board, and £112,000 since the Government resumed control.